Nassau women charged with Craigslist ID theft

Two Nassau County women have been charged with allegedly stealing hundreds of identities nationwide through a Craigslist scam and using them to file fraudulent tax returns seeking more than $500,000 in refunds and opening credit cards and loans worth more than $75,000.

The women, Susan Permberton of Rockville Centre and Cynthia Sibert of Roslyn, were arrested in November and charged with grand larceny and scheming to defraud. Pemberton faces 15 years in prison if convicted, while Sibert could face seven years.

Between February 2010 and October 2011, the women allegedly placed ads on Craigslist for faux employment opportunities and apartment rentals. Inquirers were allegedly sent applications requesting the victims’ names, addresses, birth dates and Social Security numbers. Once equipped with this information, Pemberton and Sibert allegedly used it to file more than 250 fraudulent tax returns and open bank loans and credit cards in their victims’ names.